Liquid cooler for refrigerators



Oct. 1, 1946. G. R. T A Y LOR LIQUID COOLER FOR REFRIGERATORS Filed May4, 1944 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1v w f. mm w 1 q 1 m b g F M. M x6 3.

Oct. 1, 1946. G. R. TAYLOR 1 04 I LIQUID COOLER FOR REFRIGERATORS F'ildMay 4, 1944 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Y fr;

Beur' a R TaqInr r I1 iflnothersalie pro'videa refrigeratoi havinganemia cooler built thereing -whi'ch 'will' have no projecting p ge tocollect dirt and dust and in which all parts are I normally inclosed.andconcealed from view.

Patented Oct. 1, 1 946 I V f f'2,408,704 H I, 1 LloomCOOLERFOR'REFRIGERATORS Q i George Taylor, Kenosha, Wis.

Application May 4, 1944, Serial No. 534,172

1 Claim. (01. 62-89) This invention appertains to liquid coolers forrefrigerators and more particularly, to a novel means for'incorporating. a liquid dispensingdevice in a wall of a common domesticrefrigerator.

.As is well known, thecommon practice for housewives is to place milk,fruit juices, water,

and the like in bottles or jars andposition the same inside of therefrigerator for cooling purposes.

'This necessitates the continuous opening and closing of the door of therefrigerator to gain access to said bottles or jars; with the consequentand additional work is placed upon the refrigerating unit. Likewise, thebottles and jars have to be frequently handled and the dangerofbreakageis always a hazard, particularly where there are children in thehousehold.

Some attempts have been made to build a liquid cooler in arefrigeratorand all such attempts, with which'I am. familiar, are opento serious objection. Either, they are expensive or complicated to;manufacture and incorporatein a .refrigeratonior there are partsprojecting from the refrigerator which catch in'the garments of thehousewife, 0r;-th'e effective insulating of there- 'fr geratoriinterfered with tortoogreat an extent.v ,Also-inmany instances,: theflow of the liquid. through long conduits or pipes is, a necess1t y,;which is liable to contaminate thefllquid,

t objective a: my invention is to fA"furtlier importantobject of myinvention is v to provide a refrigerator wall or door embodying theusual inner and outer shells with theinsulation therebetween, the innershell (according to my invention) having an instruck pocket or cavityfor dispensing jars and the outer shell having a similarinstruck pocketor cavity below the in-' ner pocket for beverage glasses, the pocketshaving communicating openings for the necks of the jars, whereby saidnecks can extend into the lowadmittance of warm, air intotherefrigerator and theexit of cold air from the refrigerator. This,naturally lessens, the efliciency of the refrigerator operativeposition, will form 2 er pocket for the dispensing of the contents ofthe jars into the glasses.

A further salient object of my invention is to provide a quick removabledispensing valve or tap for the neck of each jar extending into thelower cavity, sothat the same can be easily and quickly manipulated bythe operator, the ar.- rangement of valv and jar necks being such, thatthe travel of the liquid from'the jar to the drinking glasses will bereduced to a minimum and so that the collection of liquid in the valveswill be prevented. r

' A still further important object of my invention is to provide aclosure for the outer pocket or recess, which will besubstantially-flush with the outer face of the refrigerator wall or doorwhen such closure is initszclosed position for preventing the entranceof dust and dirt in said outer pocket or recess and which, when in itsopen a serving shelf for the drinking glasses. With these and otherobjects in view, the in- ;vention consistsin the novel construction, ar-

rangement and formation-of parts, as will be hereinafter morespecifically described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying.drawings, in which drawings: r a

- Figure 1 is a front, elevation view showing my novel liquid cooler anddispensing device incorporated with the door of a refrigerator.

Figure 2'is a vertical, centraLjsectionalyiew through the door taken onthe line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

"Figure 2a is a fragmentary, horizontal, sectional view taken on thelineZoe-2a of Figure 1 looking in the'direction of the arrows. I

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary, detail, sectional view'illustratingthe connection of the dispensing valve with one of thedispensing jars.

Figure-4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail,

sectional view'illustrating the use of an adapter for permitting thedispensing of milk andthe like .from their original'bottles.' l'Referring' to the drawings indetail, wherein similar referencecharacters designate corre- 3 shell and the outer metal or like shell 6and these shells 5 and 6 are firmly united, and confined between thesame is any preferred type of insulation 1.

During the stamping out of the inner shell 5 a transversely extendinginstruck cavity, pocket, or recess 8 is formed, the purpose of whichwill be later described. The outer shell 5 has formed therein during thestamping out thereof, an instruck pocket, cavity or recess 9, thepurpose of which will also be later set forth. It is to be noted,however, that the pocket 9 can be of a less height than the pocket 8 andthat the pocket 9 The outer pocket 9 is normally sealed by a closure 24,which in the present instance is connected to the refrigerator by hinges25. These hinges are of the knuckle type so that when the closure is inits open position, the same will be maintained in a horizontal plane toact as a serving shelf for drinking glasses. The closure can be providedwith a marginal flange 26 for engaging the shoulders I9 around. thecavity or pocket 9 and when the door is closed, the same issubstantially flush with the outer face of the I refrigerator.

can be provided with a marginal flange or shoulder As is clearly shownin Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the pocket 9 is arranged directlybelow the pocket 8 and that the pocket 8 opens into the interior of therefrigerator, while the pocket 9 opens out through the outer face of therefrigerator.

The pocket 8 is adapted to receive a plurality of liquid dispensing jarsH and these jars can be formed from any desired material, such as, glassor plastic. Each jar includes a depending neck I2 and a filling spoutnormally closed by a removable cap l3.

The pockets 8 and 9 are connected by spaced openings l4 and the necks ofthe bottles are insertable in said openings and preferably extend intothe lower pocket 9. Sealing gaskets I5 can be utilized for fittingpartly in said openings i l and around the necks of the bottles toreduce breakage when the jars are initially placed in position and toprevent the flow of air between the pockets 8 and 9. The necks can beprovided with outwardly extending, diametrically disposed pins I5.

A simple type of valve I! is provided for each bottle neck and eachvalve can include a casing I8 having a vertical passageway I9therethrough for the flow of liquid. One end of the casing is providedwith a sleeve 29 for receiving a jar neck and this sleeve can haveformed therein a bayonet slot 2| for receiving the pins I6. Thisprovides a quick releasable connection between each valve and its neck.A rotatable valve plug 22 controls the flow of liquid through the valvecasing and a handle 23 can be provided for rotating the plug.

Obviously, the flow of liquid is directly from the jar to the valve andthere is no chance for liquid being trapped in the valve. 7 v

The jars I I can be filled with the desired liquid by removing the capsI3 and one jar can be utilized for water, another jar for fruit juice,and so on.

As the cavity or pocket 8 opens into the interior of the refrigerator,the contents of the jars will be cooled by the air in the refrigeratorand consequently by manipulating the valves, cool liquid can be readilyhad without the necessity of opening the refrigerator door. As thevalves are arranged'within the cavity 9 the same can be easily andconveniently manipulated from the exterior of the refrigerator.

Where it is desired to dispense milk directly from the milk bottles, anadapter 28 can be employed (see Figure 4). This adapter includes aresilient body or gasket 29 having a seat 30 for receiving the head onthe milk bottle neck and the body carries a cylindrical sleeve 3| whichcan'be utilized for receiving the dispensing valve.

The jars I I are somewhat firmly held in their operative position by thevalves H, but in order to insure theaccidental displacement thereof bythe slamming of the door, I can provide a'holding rod 32 therefor. Thisholding rod 32 can extend across the jars and can be held in place byhooks 33 carried by the inner face of the door or wall of therefrigerator.

A sprin 22' can be utilized for keeping the valve plug 22 snug and tighton its seat at all times. I V

The valve to be attached to the milk bottle adapter 28 is made smallenough to go through its opening or port I 4 fromthe inside of the door.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have providedsin-exceptionally simpleand novel means for incorporating a liquiddispensing and cooling device with a refrigerator, which will eliminatethe continuous opening and closing of a refrigerator door and one inwhich all parts are concealed and protected from dust and dirt.Obviously my device will save from /2 to 1 cubic foot of space in therefrigerator for other foods, which would ordinarily be occupied bybottles, etc.

. Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit orthe scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is: ,5

A refrigerator wall or door having an upper inwardly directed pocketformed in its inner face and a lower inwardly directed pocket formed inits outer face, said pockets being connected at spaced points byopenings, removable liquid dispensing jars fitted in said upper pockethaving necks extending into said openings, sealing gaskets fittedintsaid openings and surrounding said necks, detachable valves disposedin the lower pocket connected with said necks, a closure for completelysealing the lower pocket and hiding said valves from view, when saidclosure is-in its closed position, and means for holding. the closure.at rightangles to the outer face of saiddoor when in its fully openposition to provide a serving tray. I 1

GEORGE R. TAYLOR.

